Source: http://www.journalcr.com/
- Nation is No. 1 in Central America
I-Com CR. —The World Economic Forum (WEF) has launched its 2008 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report, in which Costa Rica placed second in Latin America and the Caribbean and first in Central America in tourism competitiveness.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, Costa Rica only trails Barbados, which ranks 29th worldwide. Costa Rica is 44th among all ranked nations.
Costa Rica reached such privileged position thanks to its natural resources (No. 7 ranking), having many sites declared as world heritage, a high percentage of land set aside as protected areas, and enormous biodiversity.
Given the importance of natural ecosystems to the country’s tourism industry, it’s an important accomplishment that Costa Rica placed 32nd in the environmental sustainability indicator. However, security is a concern, and even though the country’s tourism infrastructure is well developed —No. 29 in the ranking, with a strong presence of top car rental firms and abundant hotels — ground transportation infrastructure (No. 113 out of 130) requires more attention, especially when it comes to roads and ports.
Through different reports, WEF is an internationally recognized institution that every year measures competitiveness in countries all over the globe.
The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report is one of the most recent documents WEF has released. Now in its second year, it was born with the goal of better understanding the factors that promote competitiveness and the challenges facing the tourism industry worldwide today.
This year’s report took into consideration 14 key themes (for a total of 70 indicators) in an effort to measure factors and policies that make the travel and tourism sector attractive in the 130 countries that the report encompasses.
Atop the ranking is Switzerland, which scored high in the three groups of indicators —regulatory framework for the industry; business climate and infrastructure; and presence of unique human, natural and cultural resources. Following Switzerland are Austria, Germany, Australia and Spain.
Puerto Rico, Brazil, Panama (No. 50 overall), Chile and Mexico trail Barbados and Costa Rica in Latin America and the Caribbean. Panama’s strengths are its policies and regulations and its environmental sustainability, in addition to air transportation infrastructure and competitiveness in prices. Panama’s unique natural resources helped the country placed 6th among 130 countries in this category. Weaknesses of Costa Rica’s neighbor to the south include the educational level of its human resource, technological infrastructure and some deficiencies in health and hygiene, all of which affected its overall competitiveness ranking.
Jamaica, Argentina, Uruguay, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala (No. 68) follow in the Latin American ranking. In the case of Guatemala, policies and regulations in the tourism sector are considered a plus, as well as competitive prices and unique natural resources. Things to improve in terms of competitiveness include the educational level of the country’s human resource, land transportation infrastructure and infrastructure in general, environmental sustainability, security, and some aspects of health and hygiene.
Meanwhile, Peru, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, Honduras (No. 75) and Ecuador are countries with important challenges in their tourism sectors, according to the report. In Honduras, it’s necessary to improve citizen and judicial security, land transportation infrastructure, technological and tourism infrastructure in general, and better training for human resources. What’s positive about Honduras are its natural resources, the country’s support for the travel and tourism industry, and its competitive prices.
Finally, Surinam and El Salvador (No. 97), Nicaragua (No. 99), Venezuela, Bolivia, Guyana and Paraguay are the countries in the region with the biggest challenges in terms of tourism competitiveness.
In the case of El Salvador, attention to security is a priority, as well as the improvement of overall tourism infrastructure — especially considering that the country lacks, according to the WEF report, natural and cultural attractions that differentiate it in a significant manner. In the case of Nicaragua, the report indicated that its competitiveness would benefit from better training of workers; improvements in land and air transportation infrastructure, as well as in technology; and strengthening of regulations and policies to promote the sector.
According to the report, in both Nicaragua and El Salvador, competitive prices are a factor that gives them advantages.
The Latin American Center for Competitiveness and Sustainable Development (CLACDS) — part of Costa Rica-based INCAE Business School — collects data for this report thorough an annual study among business people and executives in eight Latin American countries: Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Bolivia, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.
Costa Rica’s highest scores were in the fields of human resources and tourism infrastructure, where it placed 1st in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Posted by Roger Vlasos
Broker/Owner
Century21 At the Beach
Playas del Coco, Guanacaste
Website: http://www.century21incostarica.com/
Website: http://www.northpacificproperties.com/
Email: roger@century21incostarica.com
